PARIS — Taiwan’s Lee Yang and Wang Chi-Lin retained their Olympic badminton men’s doubles title on Sunday, beating China’s Liang Weikeng and Wang Chang 21-17, 18-21, 21-19 at the Porte de La Chapelle arena in a gripping final.
The Taiwanese pair, who won gold in Tokyo and are childhood friends, fell to the floor screaming when they won an emotionally charged match at which spectators chanted “Taiwan,” although they compete as Chinese Taipei at the Olympics to avoid objections from China, which claims the island as its own territory.
Lee threw his racket in the air as the pair received a standing ovation from the euphoric Taiwanese supporters.
“I think last time in Tokyo not a lot of people knew us, but this time people recognized us,” Lee said, adding that he kissed the court at the end of the match to say goodbye to the sport as he plans to retire.
“The past three years we didn’t play well and we heard some people say they didn’t want us to represent Chinese Taipei — I’m very happy our efforts were seen by everyone.”
PROVING TAIWAN’S STRENGTH
People across Taiwan celebrated their men’s doubles badminton gold medal victory over Chinese opponents that sparked scenes of jubilation while also exposing deeper geopolitical divides between the two sides.
In cities across Taiwan, from Wang’s home in the capital Taipei to southern Kaohsiung, and Lee’s hometown on the island of Kinmen just off the coast of China, public screens were set up that lured thousands of fans.
Many were eager to see the island win its first gold medal of the Paris Games against the sporting goliath of China that has already won 19 golds.
As with previous Olympics, Taiwan’s international status has been thrust into the spotlight given its longstanding sovereignty disputes with China.
“We want to beat China because of the political situation,” said Irene Lai, a 27-year-old office worker who was watching with her boyfriend near the back of the packed Taipei station.
Prior to the final, some Taiwanese supporters arriving at the Paris venue were forced to rub off face paintings of the Taiwan flag, while others had banners confiscated as security staff enforced Olympic rules on political messaging.
International Olympic Committee (IOC) rules prohibit flags or signs that include political messages or support countries that are not participating at the Olympics.
“This is a chance to prove Taiwan’s strength and to affirm our international status … In every area China suppresses us, we can’t even use our proper name at the Olympics and are called Chinese Taipei. So our players are helping us become recognized,” Lai added.
‘MALAYSIA CAN’
Malaysia’s Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik bagged bronze after winning 16-21, 22-20, 21-19 against Kim Astrup and Anders Rasmussen of Denmark in a match that lasted more than an hour, destroyed 34 shuttlecocks and was filled with hypnotic rallies.
The words “Malaysia boleh” — “Malaysia can” — rang out in the audience as Chia knelt on the court when he and Soh won their country’s first medal at the Paris Olympics. The country sent a delegation of 26 athletes across nine sports.
Malaysia has medaled in badminton at every Olympics except Sydney and Athens since it became a sport at the Games in 1992.
Earlier in the day, Rio gold medalist Carolina Marin of Spain’s Olympic run ended in heartbreaking fashion when she was forced to retire midway through her women’s singles semifinal against China’s He Bingjiao with what appeared to be a serious knee injury.
Marin was leading 21-14, 10-8 and seemed to be cruising to the gold medal match when she collapsed.
He, who on Saturday dethroned compatriot and Tokyo gold medalist Chen Yufei, advanced to the final on Monday.
In the other women’s semifinal, Indonesia’s Gregoria Tunjung took the first game 21-11 against top seed An Se-young of South Korea, who was struggling with an injured knee. An rallied in the second game, however, beating her opponent 21-13, 21-16 in the second and third games.
Chants of “Viktor” sounded around the arena long before Dane Viktor Axelsen, the defending champion, stepped out onto the court to play India’s Lakshya Sen.
Competing cheers from Sen’s supporters continued in between serves, but it was pin-drop silence during a neck-and-neck first game that ended 22-20 in Axelsen’s favor.
The tall Dane powered through the second game 21-14 to reach Monday’s final against Thailand’s Kunlavut Vitidsarn who outclassed Malaysia’s Lee Zii Jia 21-14, 21-15.
–Reuters, Special to Field Level Media
